Alton Brown's Favorite Airplane Snack Is A Luxe Shrimp Dish

It is not at all uncommon to read stories of chefs and individuals with refined palates turning their noses up at airplane food. So, it should come as no surprise that when Alton Brown flies, his preferred vittles are not doled out in cardboard cartons by flight staff. No, as he shared in an interview with Condé Nast Traveler, his preferences focus largely on one particular crustacean: shrimp.

While Brown mentioned shrimp salads as one preparation he uses for this plane snack, his top spot is held by a classic shrimp cocktail. "Jumbo shrimp would be the number one thing," he shared of his aviation eating habits, "with an incredibly fiery horseradish sauce I make." 

Brown went on to explain that the intense sauce in his upgraded shrimp cocktail served multiple purposes. Not only is a good sauce an integral part of the dish, but the kick of horseradish helps to keep nasal passages open, and the overall intensity of the sauce helps to counteract the palate-dulling effects of flight.

If you are wondering how Brown managed to eat shrimp cocktail on the plane while you get stuck with pretzels and mediocre snack boxes, it is not that he was tapping into a better vintage airline menu, nor was it that he was living the high life up in the first class cabin. Instead, Brown was enjoying the use of a private plane, which gave him complete control of the snacks and beverages aboard.

In the privacy of your own plane, you are free to eat whatever you like, particularly if you're the one behind the controls. But the foods Brown preferred — shrimp and egg salad being two of those mentioned — are among the worst snacks to bring on your next commercial flight.

Shrimp are perhaps the least offensive-smelling seafood that you could choose to eat in a confined environment like an airplane, but it might be better to skip that course for the sake of the person sharing your armrest. Rude as it might be to some, however, it is not unprecedented for a passenger to pack their own fruits for the sea for a mid-flight meal.

There are records of other airline customers bringing shrimp to enjoy while in the air. Some opt for Brown's technique, packing a cold shrimp cocktail, but one of the wildest social-media-driven examples of mile-high seafood featured a passenger cooking their own shrimp in an airplane bathroom. Using a pair of 6-volt batteries and an immersion heater, one TikTok user boiled shrimp and made instant mashed potatoes directly in the basin of the bathroom sink. And yes, he did eat it.

These two examples may illustrate both the best and the worst ways that one could eat shrimp on an airplane. If Brown ever offers you a shrimp cocktail with his signature fiery cocktail sauce, say yes and ask for seconds. Should the bearded fellow in the next row offer you shrimp and mash after a trip to the bathroom, on the other hand, it's probably best to decline.